AFRICA, ASIA, AND EUROPE DID NOT PRODUCE THE RACES. UN-COLORING RACE, A BLOG BY JEFF MORTON

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Ker-Plunk!

Ker-Plunk:
The sound soon to be heard when millions of Americans pull their head out of the sand...or worse, pull it out of their BUTTS!

Here are the facts

Time for the revelation of some very interesting numbers:

January 2009

TODAY

% chg

Source

Avg. retail price/gallon gas in U.S.

$1.83

$3.104

69.6%

1

Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)

$43.48

$99.02

127.7%

2

Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)

$38.74

$91.38

135.9%

2

Gold: London (per troy oz.)

$853.25

$1,369.50

60.5%

2

Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL

$3.56

$6.33

78.1%

2

Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL

$9.66

$13.75

42.3%

2

Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. fob

$13.37

$35.39

164.7%

2

Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall

7.6%

9.4%

23.7%

3

Unemployment rate, blacks

12.6%

15.8%

25.4%

3

Number of unemployed

11,616,000

14,485,000

24.7%

3

Number of fed. employees, ex. military (curr = 12/10 prelim)

2,779,000

2,840,000

2.2%

3

Real median household income (2008 v 2009)

$50,112

$49,777

-0.7%

4

Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10)

31,983,716

43,200,878

35.1%

5

Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10)

7,526,598

9,193,838

22.2%

6

Number of long-term unemployed

2,600,000

6,400,000

146.2%

3

Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009)

13.2%

14.3%

8.3%

4

People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009)

39,800,000

43,600,000

9.5%

4

U.S. rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings

5

9

n/a

10

Present Situation Index (curr = 12/10)

29.9

23.5

-21.4%

11

Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date)

140

164

17.1%

12

U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate

89.76

82.03

-8.6%

2

U.S. money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)

1,575.1

1,865.7

18.4%

13

U.S. money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)

8,310.9

8,852.3

6.5%

13

National debt, in trillions

$10.627

$14.052

32.2%

14

Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history. Over 27 times as fast! Metaphorically, speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane 27 times faster . . . it would be doing 1,755 MPH!